Verizon Wireless customers and, in some cases, critics have been signing a petition at a torrid pace, asking the company to go contract-less.

The petition on Change.org now has approximately 94,000 signatures, roughly 56,000 supporters shy of its goal of 150,000. The petition, created by "longtime Verizon customer" Mike Beauchamp of Wichita, Kan., has called the petition, simply, "Verizon: Get rid of contracts for wireless service."

"Getting rid of carrier contracts is a win for customers. Verizon's CEO, Lowell McAdam, has already expressed his willingness to do away with them … Read more

The private equity firm last month launched a bid for the computer maker to rival a $24.4 billion buyout offer from Silver Lake and Michael Dell. However, since that time, the troubles facing Dell have become more clear, causing Blackstone to drop its bid. News of the withdrawal was originally reported Thursday by some outlets.

Blackstone noted in a letter to Dell's special committee that a "unprecedented 14 percent market decline in PC volume … Read more

Private-equity firm Blackstone Group has reportedly ended its $25 billion takeover bid for Dell.

Blackstone, which last month launched a bid for the computer maker to rival a $24.4 billion buyout offer from Silver Lake and Michael Dell, withdrew its bid on Thursday, sources tell The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. The reasons for the withdrawal were not immediately clear.

CNET has contacted Blackstone for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Blackstone submitted a tentative offer to buy the company after Dell announced in February its plans to take the company private via … Read more

In spite of declining PC sales and cautious chipmakers, Microsoft fared well in the third quarter.

The software giant reported third quarter revenue of $20.49 billion or 72 cents a share, missing analyst expectations on revenue by a fraction. Operating income was $7.61 billion while net income stood at $6.06 billion.

Wall Street expected Microsoft to report third quarter earnings of 68 cents a share on revenue of $20.5 billion. 

It's a bottom-line win, and a top-line loss.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said … Read more

IBM's first quarter fell short of expectations as deals slipped into the second quarter. IBM's comments about a poor finish to the first quarter is becoming a common refrain among enterprise technology companies.

The company reported first-quarter earnings of $3 billion, or $2.70 a share, on revenue of $23.4 billion, down 5 percent from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings for the first quarter were $3 a share.

IBM was expected to report first-quarter earnings of $3.05 a share on revenue of $24.6 billion.

CEO Ginni Rometty said that the company saw a strong start … Read more

Technology luminaries have once again found a home in Time's "100 Most Influential People In the World" series.

The list, which this year includes everyone from artist Jay-Z to Pope Francis, is filled with technology big shots including Jens Bergensten and Markus Persson, the creators of wildly popular PC title Minecraft; Perry Chen, CEO and co-founder of Kickstarter; and Google Ideas director Jared Cohen.

Technology leaders have always been staples on the Most Influential list, and such giants as Steve Jobs have made their way into the listing. This year's selection, however, appears to be a … Read more

RuneScape, a popular massive online swords-and-sorcery game, is at last dumping Java and becoming a Web app.

Jagex Games Studio released the first RuneScape 3 beta yesterday, embracing HTML5 and related Web standards that offer programmers a more modern option for writing software that runs on a variety of operating systems.

About time, I say. Java had some potential years ago, and it still has its place elsewhere in the computing world. But as a way to extend a browser's abilities, it's history. If the plague of Java security vulnerabilities weren't enough to convince you otherwise, the … Read more

The technology behind Apple's iTunes U, a repository of educational information for students and teachers, has been outed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

According to Patently Apple, which first to discover the patent application on Thursday, Apple filed for a patent on the technology that powers iTunes U. Interestingly, the technology in the patent application is called Virtual University, but Apple ostensibly decided it wasn't the right name for its service.

So, what does Apple's application describe? The application describes a method by which instruction information is displayed within a graphical user interface. The … Read more

Intel's CEO seemed to throw cold water on a chip deal with Apple in Tuesday's earnings conference call -- though it really depends on how you read his comments.

When asked about making processors based on the ARM design -- such as Apple's A series chips -- Paul Otellini was quick to dismiss the idea.

"No," was the short answer from Otellini. The longer answer stipulated "ground rules" where Intel "would not enable a chip competitor."

But Otellini did seem to leave an opening for his successor, depending how you choose … Read more